Sakura's Pride
by Takara Hatake
Summary: She was a strong kunoichi and a great healer, but the day she was proudest of was not a day of battle, violence and pain. It was the day she had finally turned away and left. Please R&R!


It has been very long since I last posted a story, but I have been reading quite a lot of fanfictions lately, and I got interested in Sakura's character again. So this is basically something that I think could happen if the manga ever took that kind of storyline –which it won't!

I am French but have done my degree in English, which explains why I am now writing in this language –always good exercise! Please forgive possible mistakes of clumsiness of expression!

Disclaimer: Right, don't own Naruto, but I expect everybody knows that.

**Sakura's Pride**

She felt that it was strange that the day she was proudest of was not a day of battle, victory and pain. She was a kunoichi after all. And a good one at that. But no. The day she was proudest of… was the day she had turned on her heels and _left_. It had taken all she had.

"That's it. I'm leaving."

He had looked at her with complete disbelief, one of his signature smirks already hovering on his lips. He did not think for a second that she was serious, that _she_ could actually leave _him_. She thought that if she had still been harboring any doubts about what she was going to do, this smirk would have squashed them.

She turned his back to him. _Now you are going to watch my back_. She remembered that day of the Chuunin exams when she had cut her hair and made the decision she would not be inadequate again. She had done so much afterwards to get recognition… And, right now, it hurt that this determined child still hadn't achieved what she was aiming for. Not quite.

She was a great healer, a fearsome warrior and nobody made the mistake of underestimating her any more. So how could she have let herself fall into this? How could she have been his the moment he asked ? The truth was he hadn't even asked: he had demanded, or maybe he had just stated what he felt was a fact. How could she have clung to feelings that did not match the person she had become anymore? But she had. She had been with Uchiha Sasuke for three years now. Three years starting with elation and giddy happiness, and ending now, with a closed heart and her back turned.

Even now, he acted like the unfeeling jerk he had always been –why the hell had it taken her so long to figure that out?

"Come on, Sakura, that's not such a big deal."

Everybody had been gushing about how they were meant to be, about how romantic it was that after years of waiting and heartbreak they had finally gotten together. She supposed it had contributed to blinding her to the reality of their relationship.

"But it is a big deal, Sasuke. If, after all this time, you still cannot figure out that I am perfectly able to make my own decision and that I _don't_ depend on you to live my life… It is a big deal." There was a pause, then: "I deserve better than this. I deserve better than _you_."

Now that was the first step, the hardest step. She started forward. He was silent, but she knew him so well she could picture exactly his dumbfounded, furious look, with eyes slightly widened. Hardly any emotion written on that handsome face of his. When his voice came, it was low and threatening.

"Don't walk away from me, Sakura!"

In a heartbeat, he was right behind her, the way he had been when he had knocked her out before leaving for Sound. "You are _mine_."

Only she knew all her tricks. She had known him most of her life. She did not even bother lashing out at him –that would have implied he was worth the trouble. She turned her head slightly so as to catch his eye. He had activated his Sharingan in his anger. Her cool stare infuriated him even more.

"I am not settling for this anymore. Not for a guy who is still convinced you can own people and who has not evolved mentally of emotionally since he was twelve." She shrugged. She was not even feeling angry at him anymore. She just felt… detached. And he saw it. And it was far worse. He took a step backward without realizing he did.

Sakura left. Went on her duties like she did everyday. On the outward, nothing had changed. Most people took months to realize Haruno Sakura and Uchiha Sasuke had actually broken up.

But Sakura knew better. That had been the last step to becoming the person she was meant to be, and now was the start of a new story.

I used not to like Sakura, but I do like the character she has become throughout the manga. I also think she is a strong and level-headed character who might still harbor romantic feelings towards Sasuke… but that these would evaporate soon enough if she actually got around to dating him! Or he'd need to change quite a lot.

I hope you enjoyed this shortish oneshot and I look forward to reading your thoughts!

Takara Hatake


End file.
